There has been an increasing amount of conversation regarding ad blocking over the past few months. Ad blocking, for those unaware, is when online users utilize plug-ins and tools to prevent advertising across multiple platforms, including websites and social media. The debate recently took centre stage as Apple launched its new iOS update, effectively allowing mobile users to block all ads on the iPhone’s default browser Safari (if they choose to do so), which currently supplies roughly 55% of all mobile web traffic worldwide.
So what’s the issue at hand?
Well, blocking revenue-generating advertising can be disastrous for brands/entities, like The New York Times or Mashable, who make considerable amounts of capital from ads. It can also affect marketers on a smaller scale, as ad blockers could influence the display of ads, across Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and other advertising networks. This means that advertisers/agencies with any active campaigns could potentially be affected by increased adoption of this type of software. You can see how effective these blockers are below.
Should we freak out?
Not yet. Much like the Google mobile-geddon episode we talked about earlier this year, this only pertains to mobile traffic, and to those who choose to enable ad blocking. Thus, depending on your market/industry, you may notice a small difference, or you may not. As well, Apple has already discontinued/removed some ad-blocking tools from its store as they violated privacy issues and did much more harm than good.
Google has realigned its billing structure, and will no longer bill for ads that are undeliverable due to ad blocking. This will help ensure that you can still get the results you’re looking for with your current budget. Also, there are measures you can take to make sure your ads are whitelisted, which means that ad blockers will allow them to display.
Advertising is a good thing, but only when done properly. This whole issue presents an optimistic outlook for the future of mobile advertising, as advertisers are now forced to integrate more creative solutions into their marketing strategies that will deliver better overall experiences. For now, though, it’s business
JohnAmardeil.com 